Adults and children look over a dead gray whale washed ashore near Harborview Park on Monday, May 6, 2019 in Everett, Wash. The dead whale washed ashore Sunday. This is the 13th gray whale to wash ashore in Washington this year. (Andy Bronson/Black Press Media)

Dead grey whale on Washington State beach to be towed away

The whale washed up on Sunday. Its gender, age and cause of death have not been determined

The Everett Police Department and the state Department of Fish and Wildlife planned to have it towed at high tide on Tuesday to Camano Island, where it will be left to decompose, said Michael Milstein, a spokesperson for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Authorities hope to examine the whale later this week and determine its age, gender and cause of death.

Debbie Ritchhart spotted it from her living room window around 12:30 p.m. Sunday. Worried the whale might still be alive and struggling to breathe, she called 911.